Andoni Iraola needs La Liga star at Liverpool, he’s ‘huge’

Andoni Iraola and Richard Hughes both still have a lot of work to do at Anfield this summer.

Liverpool performed well below expectations last term and, without them bringing some new players in, it's hard to see how they'll do any better than they did during the 2025-26 campaign.

Many players have already been linked with a switch but, only two of them have actually joined the Reds' ranks.

However, the fact that Liverpool are casting their net far and wide is certainly a good thing as, with the number of players their rivals are also trying to sign, they need to have plenty of back-up options available to them.

There are obviously some players that the Reds would prefer to sign over others but, there are also some players who haven't been linked with Liverpool just yet.

And, it's these players which could really make a difference to the Anfield outfit with one of them looking likely to be an ideal signing for the Reds.

Marc Pubill would be the perfect signing for Liverpool

Of all the areas among Liverpool's ranks, it feels like their defence is the main one that needs upgrading.

Conor Bradley is out injured until who knows when and, others such as Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni have never played in the Premier League before.

In an ideal world, Iraola would probably want to sign another Joe Gomez who can play in every single position across the back four.

But, since those players are like unicorns, that may not be realistic.

However, there is one player who could tick two of the positions off that would be an excellent addition.

And, that player is, Marc Pubill.

The Spaniard may have only just joined Atletico Madrid last summer but, during his first season with the club, he performed to an extremely high standard.

His natural position is as a right-back but Diego Simeone has managed to convert him into a centre-back.

In fact, he played 29 of the 36 games he featured in as a centre-back and quickly became one of Atletico's strongest defenders.

No transfer rumours have emerged about his future yet but, with Liverpool getting linked with Jules Kounde, it feels like it makes a lot of sense for them to target Pubill instead, especially because of how much younger he is.

Why Marc Pubill would be a good signing for Liverpool

Admittedly, Liverpool signing Pubill wouldn't come cheap.

The 23-year-old has a huge €500 million release clause in his current contract so, that certainly wouldn't be getting activated by the Reds.

And, even though Atletico wouldn't expect anywhere near that amount of money for him, the fact that they have no pressure to sell would mean that they're likely to drive a rather hard bargain.

However, if Liverpool look at how good Pubill actually is, they'd see why he's worth them spending a decent chunk of change on.

Simeone only spent around £10 million on the Spaniard last summer so, no matter what they'd decide to sell him for, they'd make a lot of profit.

Liverpool need a new centre-back and they also need a new full back or two.

So, by signing Pubill, they'd tick two boxes off and be set in those areas for a rather long time, that is, especially since Simeone has described him as a player with 'huge speed' which is another thing that the Reds need from their next few signings.

There's no knowing if a move could actually be made for Liverpool but, if it can, it would be one of the smartest transfers that Liverpool could make.